A robot dog dressed as a ninja with a rocket launcher on its back was on show in Russia at an event sponsored by the country's Ministry of Defense.
A viral video from the Army 2022 arms exhibition, which is taking place this week in Moscow, was initially published on Telegram by the state-run Russian news site RIA Novosti.
Russia Explores Using Robots in Military
An RPG-26 anti-tank rocket launcher looks to be mounted on the back of the robot dog. The robot dog is an M-81, which can transport and fire weapons remotely. But hold on, there's more. The all-black fabric suit conceals everything but the cameras on the head, giving the impression of a traditional movie ninja, but with a rocket launcher on its back. On quick stomping limbs, the machine bounces and leaps.
The explosive payload it carries adds to the suspense. Despite its obvious lethality, participants at the armaments exhibition were delighted by the mobile anti-tank robot dog dashing across the conference floor. It hasn't occurred to them how weird this may be.
Aside from their unsettling motions and covert clothing, armed robot dogs are gaining popularity. According to The War Zone, photographs of Ghost Robotics' quadrupedal unmanned ground vehicles (Q-UGVs) with a Special Purpose Unmanned Rifle, or SPUR, placed on its torso and capable of firing 6.5mm rounds surfaced in July.
The SPUR, according to information obtained at the trade fair, maybe remotely taught to chamber rounds. These robots aren't very large - the one on show in Moscow this week dwarfs people - but their capacity to serve as mobile weapons platforms is genuine, and it's evident that developers and armies are interested in learning more about them.
Will Russia Use Robot Dogs in Ukraine War?
Robotic dogs are a technology that several countries, including the United States, are interested in. The Air Force has been utilizing its robotic dogs to assist with patrols as part of the Pentagon's larger investigation into remote-controlled gadgets and uncrewed vehicles, Task & Purpose reported.
It is uncertain if the robot will ever be employed on the battlefield, given that Russia is already engaged in a conflict with Ukraine and is already employing air-based drones for recon and targeting. According to RIA Novosti, the bot is named the M-81 system and was developed by a Russian engineering firm called "Intellect Machine." The makers claim the robot dog is meant to deliver weapons and ammo as well as shoot them during combat operations.
Surprisingly, the corporation opted to disguise the robot dog as a ninja. This might have been done to conceal the machine's genuine origin, which looks to be from a Chinese business named Unitree. The Unitree Go1 robot dog is presently available for $2,700 and has been regarded as a knock-off of Boston Dynamics' four-legged robots.
It's not the first time someone has opted to equip a Go1 robot with a weapon. Another individual in Russia decided earlier this year to mount a machine gun on a Go1 and video it firing the gun. Last month, the video went popular on social media, illustrating the (terrifying) military potential of autonomous ground-based robots, as per PC.
